She is OK. When she called me @ 5:30 am my one idea/fear was pelvic injury when she said air bags deployed crying.

He ran the red light and took the front off her and the car next to her that just started away from the light when it turned green. Only front drivers Air Bag deployed. Glad we just got a new windshield put in Friday...

She is like "my car, wah", I am like fuck that car, it did it's job. Still want a Smart Car?? 2 blocks from her boss's house, he got there before me.

At least he admitted to Cops and witnesses he was on the phone. Guess he thought they would check anyway. Lets see if he actually has insurance now...

I sure hope it is totaled...

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/2/17 10:37 PM

Just got off the phone with the late shift cop regarding attaining the police report. The driver was ticketed for distracted driving under the new codes.

Officer also said he has insurance. I do not yet know know if that may means he presented a valid looking INS card or if they verify it before charging additionally or not.

I do NOT want to learn how uninsured motorist coverage works on a collision claim in real time.

dfcasJoined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2446
Location: hillbilly heaven

10/3/17 6:41 AM

Glad she wasnt injured more.

I read that an estimated 20% of the the cars on the road in WV were uninsured.

lrziprisJoined: 04 Mar 2004
Posts: 390
Location: Doylestown, PA

10/3/17 6:47 AM

How is your wife (Elaine, is it?) this morning? I hope she is all right.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/3/17 11:12 AM

Elaine (yes) has a slight stiff neck from air bag belting her face, Nothing else. She works at a hospital, her hip doc is a few floors up, she called them yesterday to see if he wanted to re-xray her. She only just got her follow up x-ray last week and zero restriction clearance for activity et al. Being no pain at all anywhere related they dont deem to be concerned. Tbis all could have been so much worse..

I recall TN had similarly high uninsured stats.

Her boss passes through same intersection daily said he saw our front plate on the total other side of the road on the way home yestetday. I am going to fetch it and the rear one off the car in a bit.

sanrenshoJoined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 803
Location: North Vancouver

10/3/17 2:34 PM

Glad to hear Elaine is OK. Was it a young driver?

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/3/17 2:41 PM

What a monster to have to traverse!! Daily no less.

What are the odds something would go wrong on this spot on earth? ;)

daddy-oJoined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 2977
Location: Springfield

10/3/17 3:10 PM

I'll bet she's sore. Add me to the best wishes chorus.
No burns I hope. I got a powder burn when my CRV bag deployed.
Your 'totaled' hope will come true, my damage wasn't as bad and it was a total loss to Geico. The adjuster: "Air bag is almost always..."

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/3/17 3:24 PM

I luckily got to take her home. I strongly suggested she shower again, even though she just had before leaving.

No burns. No sign right away of respiratory from breathing that crap. Her neck is sore a tad she sez. I texted her boss asking him to observe if she is rubbing stretching etc. And thanked him for being/getting there before me. 1/2 mile from his house that intersection is. He continually impresses me, not least of which was in PACU after her surgery. The whole staff in fact, getting to work on one of their own.

Last edited by Sparky on 10/3/17 3:30 PM; edited 2 times in total

daddy-oJoined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 2977
Location: Springfield

10/3/17 3:27 PM

I think the bags are packed in corn starch and that's most of the "smoke."

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/4/17 12:19 PM

Boy, I am having a real residual anger thing from all this. I feel like if I go out on my bike in town today the first MF that fucks with me at a crossing or gets too close... Maybe I will just go for a hike.

Elaine still fine, stiffness in the neck from air bag pugilism subsided quickly. I need to focus on her being OK and stop allowing anger. It is like a few of the 5 steps of grief, except I am stuck on anger...
I wonder how fucked up I would be if Elaine was actually injured, or serious injured.

I try to keep reminding myself I probably can't cash checks any more at 60, or maybe just one. ;)

RickkJoined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 526
Location: Montreal

10/5/17 6:32 AM

Hope your wife heals and gets over this accident fast and without incident.

Look at it this way - if it was a cyclist getting hit by that distracted driver ... he'd prbably be also concidered a 'total loss', just like the CRV

Pat ClancyJoined: 13 Jan 2004
Posts: 1343
Location: Manchester, CT

10/5/17 5:06 PM

Too many cars

It's when I see an intersection like this, all too often with gas stations, parking lots, and auto dealers located at each corner, that I think we have let the auto culture go way too far.

Our town has just formally embraced the "Complete Streets" policy.

Per Wikipedia:
Complete Streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated, and maintained to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode of transportation.

The trouble is, it will take decades for there to be a noticeable difference. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single pedal stroke.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/5/17 5:21 PM

We have learned that this intersection is in the planning stages to have a fly over for the direction Elaine was traveling. They did it at the bottom of the hill at another once worse spot. Finished it up early 2014? not sure exactly. That is where she was rear ended after it was finished, sustaining $10k damage to the under 2 year old Equinox... But the incidents like this one Monday can no longer occur there any longer.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/8/17 9:26 AM

Distraction Maximus

As stated, in 3 years distracted driving via cell phones by others has twice cause us major vehicle damages. Not got the word yet on the CRV, but will be very surprise if not a total loss.

Rental car and the new CRV we looked at are 2017 models. The info-taniment screen/systems on both are distraction centers personified.

I've come to think that the roundabout is a better idea. We only have a few here , but I wish we had more. We have a series of lights in a relatively high speed section of 4 lane and there have been at least 4 t bone deaths there in the last 10 years

A roundabout slows things down and eliminates the possibility of a t bone. There may be more fender benders(I don't know this to be true) but I have to think that serious injury/death would be reduced. Also it does not need electricity or traffic lights.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/8/17 12:08 PM

"I've come to think that the roundabout is a better idea"

In fact the intersection down the hill they took the cross traffic away [where the NOX was rear ended] has that traffic going under. It has a rotary incorporated I suspect exactly for that reason.

If you notice the line of cars stopped pointing left at the light, Elaine was 3rd back. The light just went green and she went from brake to gas, SLAM! I suspect when he looked up from texting he saw the green and no brake lights on the cars just getting underway. We know what happened when he next looked up. He ran into the back of the Nox and there were no skid marks in his 1990 shitbox. He drove into the back of the Nox which was just getting up to approx 10 MPH at speed. The car in front of Elaine pulled away just in time to not have Elaine get pushed into it. Luck?

In this pic you see the diversion including the circle. All the dark pave is the new under path. The fresh concrete bridge you see was just road on on a mound of dirt. They dug it out just before pulling that new bridge over having built it on stanchions adjacent. They call this accelerated construction technique for obvious reasons. Assume this is the norm most places.

VID of the process in time lapse. I see I had the date off in a previous comment. 4 day process included two weekend days. They had poured the footings about 2 months earlier over a weekend at night. The footings you see there when they slide the new bridge roadway over.

Here is an aerial before the Home depot went in that upped the flow though the roof. You can see the slab base for the HD.

The I-205 by pass is what 213 dumps onto. So we use it all the time. The back roads are no bargain either. ;)

daddy-oJoined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 2977
Location: Springfield

10/9/17 9:12 AM

Questions for perspective
Top photo, bottom left corner, hugging the edge: row of cars in the HD parking lot?
Bottom photo: Overpass and rotary would be just outside the top edge of the photo?
Bottom photo: Top left corner I-205 and RR tracks?

By the way, the battle for position that occurs with folks already on 213 with the I-205 bypass flow onto it is continual road rage fodder.

Last edited by Sparky on 10/9/17 2:33 PM; edited 1 time in total

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/9/17 12:05 PM

Got confirmation of Total loss. Now we will see how the Gap INS on the lease covers.

Now the fun starts with the coins.

SparkyJoined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 16158
Location: Portland, OR

10/12/17 3:03 PM

Things on the coin front looking well.

The INS payment for the totaled leased vehicle exceeds the residual/payout on the car. The gap INS portion of the payments addresses the 11 remaining payments. And the gap does not have to cover a paid value less than the residual value.

Actually all this eliminates the lease termination fee we would have incurred upon return.

They will be sending us a check for the difference of the residual/buyout to INS settlement, and that is from Honda Financial. The dealer told me this too, but I don't believe much they say frankly. ;0

Thus even though we would do the lease route again via Honda Financial, we are buying the new one instead of leasing.

So when it is all said and done I will update with a pic of the next gen CRV and confirmation this all actually happened the way Honda Financial has indicated. In case anyone considers a lease with Honda it should prove good info.

Elaine fine still, and not back totally in theater full time.

For all the car shit aggravation, the total lack of injury and crazy surgery recovery time, lucky stars being thanked.